Three accused of retaliatory assault

Published: Monday, July 22, 2013 at 11:46 AM.

A trio of Carteret County men had a first appearance in court Monday following their arrest in connection with an assault that was an alleged act of retaliation.

Mark Lester, 17; Caleb Mendoza, 16; and Raymond Winchester Jr., 20, all of the Atlantic community in Down East Carteret County, were arrested Friday by the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office on burglary and assault charges.

They are accused in an assault that occurred at the home of Charles Morgan, 59, at Sea Shore Drive, also in Atlantic.

According to a sheriff’s office news release, Mendoza and Lester were driven to the victim’s residence by Winchester about 11 p.m. Friday. Mendoza and Lester knocked on the door and allegedly forced their way in when the Morgan opened it.

Morgan was then jumped and assaulted with a Ruger .223 caliber rifle, according to the CCSO. He was repeatedly beaten in the face with the butt of the rifle, their hands, and struck in the head with a vase, the release said.

Morgan was transported to Carteret General Hospital and later released after treatment for numerous facial fractures, authorities said.

The sheriff’s office said the incident reportedly started when the mother of one of the suspects told the boys she was assaulted earlier in the day by Morgan.

A trio of Carteret County men had a first appearance in court Monday following their arrest in connection with an assault that was an alleged act of retaliation.

Mark Lester, 17; Caleb Mendoza, 16; and Raymond Winchester Jr., 20, all of the Atlantic community in Down East Carteret County, were arrested Friday by the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office on burglary and assault charges.

They are accused in an assault that occurred at the home of Charles Morgan, 59, at Sea Shore Drive, also in Atlantic.

According to a sheriff’s office news release, Mendoza and Lester were driven to the victim’s residence by Winchester about 11 p.m. Friday. Mendoza and Lester knocked on the door and allegedly forced their way in when the Morgan opened it.

Morgan was then jumped and assaulted with a Ruger .223 caliber rifle, according to the CCSO. He was repeatedly beaten in the face with the butt of the rifle, their hands, and struck in the head with a vase, the release said.

Morgan was transported to Carteret General Hospital and later released after treatment for numerous facial fractures, authorities said.

The sheriff’s office said the incident reportedly started when the mother of one of the suspects told the boys she was assaulted earlier in the day by Morgan.